A variety of image bearing cards exist which must be handleable in the sense of not being readily bent or torn, smudged or cracked when picked up, handed about, held to be examined and read; the cards must be durable. Examples of such cards include postcards, the so-called "sports cards" depicting individuals in athletic poses and numerous other cards carrying frequently the images of people, animals, places, and the like. Such cards are handled, kept, collected, traded, and may very well take on an intrinsic value making their preservation important to the owner. The characteristics of such cards, in terms of dimensions, have evolved driven by either postal regulations as related to postcards or by printing practices and custom evolving from the dimensions of packages originally coupling goods sold with the cards as coupons or inducement to purchase such goods. Postcards have evolved to dimensions on the order of 31/2 inches by 51/2 inches with a thickness on the order of 0.010 as a maximum for a given postal charge; there being other and larger postcards requiring appropriately different postal rates. Sports cards have evolved to dimensions on the order of 21/2 inches by 31/2 inches with a thickness on the order of 0.020 inches, or slightly less. Both types of cards have come to require a certain stiffness, feel, and resistance to easily being torn or bent. Quality cards also must have a resistance to smudging, smearing or cracking of the images on the surfaces thereof.
Heretofore, cards, such as postcards and sports cards, have been printed on a stock of the thickness required for appropriate stiffness by utilizing printing techniques, inks, curing and the like to assure a stable image and finish. Prior art practices are acceptable when the volume of cards is sufficient to amortize the relatively expensive set up, composition, and the like to provide a production run. In some cases, the requirements are on the order of hundreds, with a thousand or twelve hundred cards being the minimum order preferred. Orders of a few cards, or a few dozen cards, have not been practical, and have indeed been prohibitive when utilizing the prior art practice.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide handleable, image bearing cards and a method of manufacture that is economically feasible for extremely short card runs. It is a further object to provide cards and a method of manufacturing therefor which are high quality, in terms of image durability, yet rendered through a low cost process. It is yet a further object to provide low cost, image bearing handleable cards which have the characteristics of printed cards.